1. Field
Embodiments relate to a washing machine having a structure supporting a clutch selectively transmitting rotary force of a motor to a drum or a pulsator.
2. Description of the Related Art
A washing machine is an apparatus which washes laundry using electric power, and generally includes a tub to store wash water, a drum rotatably installed within the tub, a pulsator rotatably installed on the bottom of the drum, and a motor and a clutch to rotate the drum and the pulsator.
When the drum and the pulsator are rotated under the condition that laundry and wash water are placed within the drum, the pulsator agitates the laundry placed within the drum together with the wash water to remove dirt from the laundry.
The clutch mounted on the washing machine is connected to the drum and the pulsator and selectively transmits driving force generated from the motor to the drum and the pulsator.
In general, as the capacity of the washing machine increases, the diameters and heights of the tub and the drum increase and thus centrifugal force generated due to rotation of the drum increases. Since the centrifugal force is directly transmitted to a structure supporting the clutch through the clutch connected to the drum, reinforcement of the strength of the structure supporting the clutch to cope with the increasing centrifugal force is required.